Friday, October 20, 2006

Poem about Judas Iscariot

During a game of trivial pursuit I once came across a question which asked, "What colour hair did Judas Iscariot have?" I have read my Bible in and out and back to front and never come across the colour of Judas' hair. With great curiosity I flicked over the card and learnt, to my surprise, that the answer was "red". I spoke with Marvin Meyer in Budapest sometime ago and he confirmed to me the legend that Judas was a red-head. (For those that do not know me, you should know that I am a red-head).

Given the recent Judas frenzy with the publication of the Gospel of Judas and the several ensuing books by Marvin Meyer, Bart Ehrman, Tom Wright and (soon) Simon Gathercole, I thought I would include reference to a poem about Judas that I found in the book by Richard Bauckham and Trevor Hart called At the Cross.

In Hell there grew a Judas TreeWhere Judas hanged and diedBecause he could not bear to seeHis master crucifiedOur Lord descended into HellAnd found his Judas thereFor ever haning on the treeGrown from his own despairSo Jesus cut his Judas downAnd took him in his arms"It was for this I came" he said"And not to do you harmMy Father gave me twelve good menAnd all of them I keptThough one betrayed and one deniedSome fled and others sleptIn three days' time I must returnTo make the others gladBut first I had to come to HellAnd share the death you hadMy tree will grow in place of yoursIts roots lie here as wellThere is no final victoryWithout this soul from Hell"So when we all condemned himAs of every traitor worstRemember that of all his menOur Lord forgave him first

D. Ruth EtchellsBeirut, January 20, 1987

I'm not advocating the entire theological package here, but it's a nice poem and fits in snugly with the recent Judas frenzy of media and scholarly attention.

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Accordance

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